Justice News

Tucson Man Returned to Prison for Failing to Complete Sex-Offender Treatment

TUCSON, Ariz. – Last month, Juan Valentino Coronado, 46, of Tucson, Ariz., and enrolled member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James A. Sototo over 7 months in prison for failing to participate in sex-offender treatment, which he had been ordered to do as part of a previous conviction for sexually abusing a minor.

Coronado was originally convicted and sentenced on Oct. 24, 2014, for abusive sexual contact of a minor for an offense committed while he was on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation in 2013. His supervised release was first revoked in March 2015 because he had contact with a minor. He was imprisoned for an additional five months and, after serving that prison term, placed back on federal supervision. In February 2017, Coronado was charged with another violation, this time for unsatisfactory participation in sex offender treatment. He challenged those allegations, but after a two-day evidentiary hearing, both the federal magistrate judge and district judge found that Coronado had failed to complete his sex-offender treatment.

“Our compliments and thanks go to the U.S. Probation Department for closely monitoring the defendant after his release from prison,” stated First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange. “It is not enough to simply punish, through a term of imprisonment, those who commit sexual crimes against minors. Sex-offender treatment is an important tool in ensuring that offenders don’t revert to their old ways, and our office will be vigilant in demanding that such offenders meet all of their court-ordered responsibilities even after they are released from prison.”

Upon release from prison, Coronado will be returned to federal supervised release, for the third time, for an additional 60 months. His special conditions once again include that he participate in and complete sex offender treatment.

The investigation in the underlying case was conducted by the Pascua Yaqui Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Micah Schmit, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.